thursday's ten or so: the smashville edition

reasons to love smashville during the playoffs:

local preschoolers teach their classmates the fan chants...not limited to "hey, you SUCK" and "we're gonna beat the hell out of you!

the fact that nashville is really a small town becomes apparent when the local celebs get into the action and you realize they are just as big of a fan as you are (cue vince gill starting a new chant during his performance last friday "bertuzzi is a sissy" and getting the entire arena to join in the fun.) say what you want about country music (and i may even agree) but you gotta love these guys.

webering becomes popular

on the way home from church while listening to the game on the radio, you and your husband can sing the ENTIRE song/chant when the preds score their first goal of the game.

you can paint your fingernails in fun colors that you normally wouldn't...like this!

at the arena everyone is bundled up and wearing oversized clothing so you don't have to feel self-conscious about those 5 extra pounds
(i mean, i still do. but you don't HAVE to.)

you discover that you can listen to live radio broadcasts of the game on your phone because there really is an app for that

usually the traffic circle peeps at demonbreun are decked out in playoff gear. i forgot to look when i was on music row yesterday, but here's last years!

the city suddenly seems to unite around the games, and you start to wonder if we are becoming more of a hockey town than a football town (which would be fine...)

recipe of the week: chicken marsala casserole

i LOVE chicken marsala, but i've never had a recipe for it that i felt was fantastic

therefore i've always stuck to ordering it at carrabba's and calling it a day.

however, thanks to pinterest i ran across this recipe from rachael ray for an interesting twist on the dish

after a few modifications (making it twice), here's our preferred version!

chicken marsala casserole

2 tbsp butter

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 tbsp flour

1/2 cup marsala wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper

1 cup cooked long grain rice

1 pound chicken thighs, cooked and chopped coarsely

1/4 cup grated parmesan and asiago cheeses (i did about half and half, but you can figure out your own ratio!)

preheat the oven to 350.  heat the butter in a large skillet until just melted.  add the mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

sprinkle the flour on top and sir in for one minute.

add the marsala and cream and simmer, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened (about 3 minutes)

stir in 1 cup of water, the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste (i used about 1.5 tsp of each) and cheeses.

in a 9x13 casserole, spread the rice in an even layer, topped with the chicken. pour the mushroom gravy over the top.  

bake for 35 minutes or until bubbly.

monday's memory: march 366

just another photo dump post...my life in pictures, march edition :-)

Good Friday (2012)

to be honest
this is the first year in a long time that i haven't participated in Lent in a traditional way
and really
i thought i would miss it
but i haven't


and i don't know if that's being confessional because i "should" have
or if it's just another step along this journey of faith for me


(i think it's the second)


because i'm not dissatisfied in any way
i still reflect on the meaning of this period of time
and i am oh.so.grateful today on Good Friday
that we were worth all that not good at all stuff
that Jesus endured


maybe that's the theme of Lent this year for me
i'm worth it
we're worth it
and if we're worth it,
how can i not love the other worth-it people 
even when they don't look/act/think/behave like me?


that has been my Lenten sorrow
that Christians are no longer known for love
but instead for spreading hate, bitterness, and judgement


how did we get so far away from the message?


the very nature of Good Friday
is that God so loved


that is the central message of our faith
it's love
pure and simple


so on this Good Friday
in this Holy Week
on this Easter Sunday


i will continue to be grateful
(so grateful)
and i will continue to choose love.

recipe of the week: greek chicken pasta

we love greek food

we love pasta

so when  i found this recipe for greek chicken pasta, i decided to try it.

upon reading the recipe, however, i decided to take what i liked about it (the artichoke hearts and feta cheese, namely) and create a new recipe based loosely on it.

here's what happened

greek chicken pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

salt, freshly ground pepper, greek seasoning, oregano

1 sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound of chicken, cut into cubes (i used boneless skinless breasts)

1/2 cup white wine (this is how much was left in the bottle in my fridge...so use more or less depending on your preference)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 can diced tomatoes with oregano, basil and garlic

1 can artichoke hearts, drained

1 container feta cheese with mediterranean herbs (or reserve a bit for sprinkling on top)

penne or bow-tie pasta, cooked according to package directions

begin by heating your olive oil and spices

 toss in the onions and garlic, saute for 5 minutes

 add the cubed chicken and a second round of spices (including a whole lot of greek seasoning)

 add the white wine, and cook down for about 3 minutes

add the chicken broth, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and feta

 simmer sauce together for at least 15 minutes (enough time for the pasta to cook)

 it smells and looks amazing after that time...

 serve up over your warm & freshly cooked penne, sprinkle with reserved feta

 enjoy!

 (assuming 6 servings, pasta included)

*in the future i will likely marinate the chicken first, perhaps in lime juice and greek seasonings. i dislike chicken that is bland, and it just didn't have the great flavor of the sauce to me. however, leftovers were a little better in that regard, so i'll be playing around with this a bit!

(click this button and find more yummy recipes!!)

it's a great day to put up my saturday post a day late!

so, we celebrated my birthday and anthony's awesome new job at the pub friday night with friends & family

slept in on saturday morning, then went to see one of the youth group kids in a play

and then anthony told me that he wanted to take me shopping for my birthday

he knew what he wanted to buy me, but knew that i would want input.

he wanted to buy me a north face jacket (which i've wanted for YEARS but haven't justified the money spent)

so we went to a couple of stores, and ended up finding a triclimate jacket on *clearance* for a hundred dollars off normal price...and a light hoodie on clearance as well.

i ended up walking out of the store with two jackets -- and a pair of reef flip flops that ALSO happened to be on clearance, all for well under the amount he had budgeted and set aside for the original jacket.  

i'm spoiled, blessed and happy :-)  

today is church, lawn mowing, and once upon a time/gcb with natasha.
i'm kind of not wanting this weekend to end!


happy sunday, all!

recipe of the week: (slow cooker) thai red curry beef

i'm having quite the blossoming relationship lately with my slow cooker.
wednesdays are SLAMMED for both my husband and me, so wednesday has become "crock pot night" at our place
sometimes that's tossing everything together wednesday morning, but more often than not i prepare it tuesday night and plug it in as i head out the door.


i made this recipe for the second time this week.  the first time, i followed it nearly exactly (from the williams-sonoma website).  but i felt that while the sauce had great flavor, the meat itself just tasted like lumps of beef.  well, they were after all!


so i've revamped the recipe a bit, and we had it for dinner again this week.  this time was a little more to my liking, so here's my adaptation of the recipe!


thai red curry beef

marinade for the meat:
2 - 3 tbsp red curry paste
salt & pepper
garlic powder
juice of 1/2 lime
mint flakes


2.5 pounds lean stew meat
olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup (or more to taste) red curry paste
2 cans coconut milk
salt, pepper, cumin, a smidge of cayenne, crushed coriander seeds, mint leaves (to taste) - i use a mortar & pestle to combine
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 can bamboo shoots
fresh mint and cilantro


begin by combining the stew meat with the marinade ingredients.  mix well, and then refrigerate for at least an hour.

heat 2 tbsp (ish) of olive oil in a large pot.  in batches if necessary, brown the meat a bit on all sides.  you're not cooking through, just getting a little color on the meat.

transfer the meat to the crockpot.

add the onion and garlic to the pan, as well as the spice combo.

cook for five minutes, and then add the red curry paste.

stir the paste into the onion/garlic mixture and cook through for another minute or so.

pour in the coconut milk and stir well, scraping any reside off the pan while you're doing so.  add the fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar.

bring mixture to a boil, then transfer to the crockpot as well.

cook on low for 6-8 hours, and 5 minutes before serving stir in the bamboo and a second round of that spice combo.  i also added another tablespoon or two of the red curry paste.

serve over rice and garnish with the mint and cilantro.

this is not a low-fat recipe.  after all, it has two cans of coconut milk in it.  however, fat (especially good fat) is not the problem, at least not for me.  i try to stay low-sugar, and this recipe fits the bill.  here's the screenshot from myfitnesspal of the breakdown (including rice...we use brown basatmi).

(lots of fun recipes linked up if you click on this button!  yummy!)